Sacrifice
by cooking-ninja18
Summary: Merlin is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice so Arthur and company can escape a conquered Camelot.  Idea from seing promo pics for S03 ep12-13. Kind of Merlin & Gawain friends Rated T for some violence and to be safe.  Please R&R?  More info insid


**I know I know… I have other stories I need to work on. Well I saw the promo pictures for episodes 12 and 13 of Merlin and this story started floating around in my head. I just needed to get it out! Out I tell you! I started writing this before episode 12 came out so its not following what actually happened. Ok… anywho, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. BBC does… Lucky ducks…**

He pressed the cold rag to the trembling man's forehead. No matter how many times he wiped it away, sweat continued to drip down the man's pale face. When he took breaths, they sounded raspy and slow. Gawain poked at the fire in attempt to bring more of the much needed warmth it was providing. There was a pot of water hanging over the fire, and as it began to steam, he threw some medicinal herbs into it. Gawain turned his attention back to the shaking form lying in front of him.

"Merlin… hang in there…" He sighed when Merlin didn't respond.

**Flashback**

Gawain had been wandering near Camelot's border when he got the news of Morgana's betrayal. With Uther no longer on the throne, nothing said he couldn't return to Camelot. He knew that in order to stop the witch, Arthur would have to flee Camelot in order to gain support, and if Arthur left Camelot, then Merlin would right beside him. He was brought out of his thoughts when the sound of quick footsteps echoed through the woods. He could tell that there was more than one person, so he hid behind the trunk of the tree he had climbed and waited to see who it was. To his surprise, Arthur followed by who he remembered to be Leon, a man who reminded him of Gwen, as well as Gwen herself, and one other man whom he did recognize. But to his confusion, Merlin wasn't with them. He decided to get some answers. As he swung down from the tree he called out.

"Arthur!"

The prince swung around pointing out his sword, but once he saw who it was, he lowered it.

"Gawain, what are you doing here?"

"I heard about the events in Camelot. Though I'd see if you needed help." He paused and looked around.

"Where's Merlin?"

Something that looked like guilt flashed through the princes eyes.

"He…" he sighed

"When we were escaping, we were almost caught. He distracted Morgana and Morgause so that Leon, Elyan, Gwen, Lancelot and myself could escape. I haven't seen any sign of him for the past few days… I fear the worst…"

Gawain stood still for another moment, before walking down the path that they had come from.

"Where are you going? Heading into Camelot is suicide right now!" Gawain turned for a moment.

"I'm going to find Merlin. We'll catch up with you." The prince stared at him for a moment, before allowing a small smile to form on his face, and nodded.

"Very well. Be careful. We are headed north to find support." Gawain nodded and turned to walk again, but the princes last words to him made him turn once again to face him.

"Bring him back safely, that's an order!"

"I suppose I could follow orders just this once."

Later on, he could see the Castle from the hillside he was standing on. He was about to continue down the hill when a strangled cry of pain caused him to freeze in his tracks. He bolted back into the trees of the forest towards the sounds of fighting. When he got closer, he saw flashes of light and he began to hear spells being chanted. When he reached an opening, he saw who he believed to be members of the blood guard approaching a very weak looking Merlin. The boy had blood running down his face as well as a nasty bruise over his right eye. He was also holding his side with one arm and the other was hanging limply at his side, and to make things worse for him he was also limping as he backed away from the menacing sorcerers. Merlin looked like he was ready to drop, and soon after he fell to his knees struggling to keep his eyes open.

Merlin looked up when he heard the sound of a sword being drawn, and was surprised to see Gawain standing right behind the two blood guards. He swung his sword at them, bringing their attention away from the fallen warlock. The boy was too weak to move, so he could only hope that Gawain would understand if Merlin had to reveal his magic. Sure enough, when the man was knocked to the ground and about to be run through, Merlin did all he could at the moment; he took a deep breath, and as he yelled his eyes burned gold. The yell came out as a roar and the force of it sent the two surprised blood guards flying into nearby trees. Before they could get up again, Gawain sprang to his feet and ended their lives. He knew it was gruesome, but it had to be done if they were going to get away.

When the sorcerers were taken care of, Gawain turned his attention to the newly discovered warlock kneeling on the ground.

"Huh, never would have guessed you could do that." At the boys small smile, he too smiled. But it quickly disappeared when he took in the pained expression on his face. He rushed over to his side when he started falling over and caught him.

"Merlin?"

**End of Flash back**

He had managed to carry the unconscious boy for a few miles before he deemed it safe to stop for the night. He figured Arthur and company would not be too far, and he needed to tend to the warlock. Merlin had been running a high fever, and Gawain was doing the best he could to keep it under control. When the water on the fire began to steam again, he removed it and dipped a cloth into it. He then laid out some bandages and removed the injured warlock's shirt, wincing when he saw the damage.

He decided to start with the nasty gash on his side, and after gently turning the boy on his uninjured side, he laid a cloth with the herbal remedy over it; apologizing when Merlin whimpered and flinched away from the touch. The infection that had been growing began running out of the wound, having been drawn out from the herbs. As the cloth did its job, Gawain placed some of the bandages into the remedy as well, and once they were damp he removed the cloth from the wound and gently moved Merlin into a sitting position. He then proceeded to tightly wrap the cloth around his chest, and although it was pointless, he apologized once again when the warlock's breathing quickened and his face scrunched up in pain. Once again the man sighed. He lowered merlin down again, and placed more bandages into the remedy, and then moved on to his head. He wiped the dried blood off the boy's face, and was relieved to see that it was merely a cut and didn't need much attention. So next he went to Merlin arm and saw that although it wasn't bleeding, there were some nasty bruises covering the entire appendage, so it was most likely sprained, but not broken. He went ahead and tied some of the damp bandages around the arm as well. The very last thing he did the best in his ability to fix was his leg. Gawain noticed that Merlin had been limping on it earlier. Merlin wasn't so lucky this time, as Gawain saw that the leg was broken. He set it in a makeshift cast wrapped with the herbal remedy as well. He looked around for something he might be able to use as a crutch once he woke up, and his eyes landed on the staff that he had with him when he found him and decided it would have to do.

Several hours later merlin began to stir, and Gawain got up from where he had been keeping watch and kneeled by Merlin's side. When the warlock finally opened his eyes, Gawain couldn't help but smile.

"Gawain?"

"Welcome back."

Merlin raised his head to look around, but winced and layed back down.

"Ow…"

"Whats wrong?"

"I feel like I just got the life beat out of me." Gawain frowned.

"We can talk about what happened later, just rest for now, you have a high fever." Seeing the warlocks concerned face he continued.

"And don't worry, no bloodgaurd will be finding us tonight, although I couldn't say the same about tomorrow. Now get some rest, we will have to get moving again soon."

With a weak nod Merlin let himself fall back into unconsciousness. Gawain laid a blanket over the sleeping warlock and threw more wood on the fire to provide more warmth in the cold night. He was also hoping the large fire would attract the attention of Arthur and the others, who he knew would be somewhere in the surrounding area. He put his sword in his lap and waited.

~0o0~

"Arthur." The Prince looked over to Lancelot, who was looking just above the tree line a couple miles away.

"Smoke." He observed. "From a campfire."

"What should we do?" Elian asked. Lancelot voiced his thoughts.

"Perhaps it's Gawain trying to send us a signal. Maybe he found Merlin…"

The prince stood up and sheathed his sword then turned towards his companions.

"If that's a possibility, then I am going to see."

Lancelot stood as well, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

"I'm going to." Arthur nodded, then glanced at Gwen, who was sleeping soundly by the fire, then looked at Elian.

"Stay alert. We'll be back in a few hours." Elian nodded, and Arthur and Lancelot turned into the woods and headed towards the smoke.

~0o0~

Gawain tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword when a slight disturbance to the quietness in the woods caught his attention. It could be Arthur, it could not be; he wasn't sure, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Slowly, he turned his attention away from the sleeping warlock and towards the direction in which the sound originated. A split second later, a knight bearing Cendred's mark launched himself out of the darkness towards Gawain. The warlock's friend reacted quickly, and after moving out of the way, he slashed at the knight with his sword. The fight continued for several minutes; Gawain was becoming suspicious when he noticed the knight trying to lead the fight away from Merlin. Sure enough, once he was a good distance from the sleeping warlock, a few knights and two blood guards emerged from the shadow and approached the boy.

Gawain saw them approaching and turned away from the knight he had been fighting in order to come to his friends aid. Before he could get very close, he was thrown backwards and two other blood guards appeared, forcing him to stay kneeling on the ground.

"Merlin!" he hoped the boy would hear his call and wake up, and he began furiously struggling against his captors when one of the blood guards got dangerously close and raised his hand towards the injured warlock.

"Merlin! Get away from him!" The man could only watch helplessly as the sorcerer prepared to kill the boy.

When he heard the distressed voice of his friend, Merlin forced his heavy eyes open only to see one of Morgauses followers with his hand raised towards him. Panic rose in him and his magic lashed out instinctively, sending the sorcerers and knights flying in random directions. With the danger momentarily away from Merlin, Gawain rolled onto his back and kicked his captors square in the face. With the invisible bonds gone, he dived for his sword and struck down one of the sorcerers still dazed from the surprise attack. He was about to strike the other when a strangled cry of pain froze him in his tracks. He slowly turned back around towards Merlin, only to be met with a gruesome sight.

A guard once again had his hand pointed towards the warlock, and Merlin was writhing around in pain; his breathing was quick, and his eyes were shut tight. He appeared to be trying to get away from the source of the pain, and what he saw next made a new found anger awaken deep inside of him. The bandages around the warlocks injured arm were rapidly turning red, and he heard the unmistakable and sickening sound of tearing flesh. Merlin cried out again, but to everyone's surprise, his dragon lord powers kicked in and the cry came out as more of a roar; sending everyone flying back. Noticing everyone was knocked out, Gawain ran over to Merlin and knelt down next to him.

"Come on Merlin." He helped the injured warlock sit up and then flung his good arm around his shoulders and pulled him up, apologizing when the boy gasped in pain.

"We need to get out of here while we can." They weren't even a few steps away from where they started when two more figures emerged from the shadows. Gawain tightened his hold on the fading warlock until he realized who they were. He sagged in relief at the sight of Arthur and Lancelot. They too looked relieved to see Gawain, but their relief soon turned to pure horror when their eyes landed on Merlin. Arthur stepped forward and even though he tried to hide it, he looked utterly terrified.

"M-Merlin?"

At the mention of his name from the familiar voice, the warlock slowly tried to lift his heavy head and eyes to look at the figure standing in front of him.

"Ar…thur…" he managed to mumble. "you…alright?" Arthur gapped at this.

"Am….Am I alright? Am I… Have you seen yourself? My god Merlin, what the hell did they do to you? You look utterly terrible!" He took a deep breath and his expression saddened at the site of his friends pain-filled face. Lancelot seemed to break away from his shock long enough to voice his concern.

"We need to get him to Gaius back at the ruins…and fast."

**Ok… so the plot I had to get out of my head ended like… a few paragraphs ago, but I had to add to it. And those of you who have read some of my other stories may have noticed I have this… sick addiction to writing Merlin extreme Hurt/Comfort scenes… and I'm sorry to say that I sometimes can't help my evil self. Anywho, let me know your thoughts.**

**Cooking-ninja**


End file.
